Stocks finish higher, end 3-day losing streak (ext)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks closed higher Tuesday, ending a three-day losing streak for the Dow and S&P 500, as investors' attention turned toward corporate earnings. Japan's pledge to buy eurozone bonds helped ease European debt jitters and give underlying support to market sentiment.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) finished up 34 points, or 0.3%,The S&P 500 (SPX) rose 5 points, or 0.4%.

Financial Network market strategist Brian Gendreau said he wouldn't be shocked to see quarterly earnings continue to surprise on the upside, which would push stocks upward.

"We're looking ahead into what seems like it'll be a pretty good earnings season," he said.

While stocks were holding gains, there was some pull back from earlier in the session, which analysts say is to be expected. "There's still a lot of enthusiasm in the market, but we've been rallying for four months now so we may see a bout of weakness," said Steven Goldman, market strategist at Weeden & Co.

On Monday, stocks ended just below breakeven as investors worried about a possible bailout for Portugal.

Those concerns faded Tuesday amid reports that Japan will buy eurozone bonds to help prevent the spread of the region's debt crisis, but Gendreau said problems will resurface throughout the year.

"Concerns about Europe's debt problems crop up every couple of weeks, but they tend to get outweighed by U.S. economic or company news," he said. "But I think eurozone issues will weigh on the market for some time to come."

The dollar lost ground against the euro and the British pound, but rose versus the Japanese yen.

Oil for February delivery gained $1.86 to settle at $91.11 a barrel.

Gold futures for February delivery climbed $10.20 to settle at $1,384.30 an ounce.